​The Friends of North Central Park and Rio Grande International Study Center wish to thank the veterans of Laredo who formally withdrew their plan to build a museum at North Central Park.Thank you to the 16 panelists and veteran leaders who participated in tonight’s Veterans Museum Forum.We especially thank Mr. Guero Segovia for his leadership, and for choosing to side with the community to protect our treasured green spaces.We look forward to working with the veterans to make their museum a reality.We thank Our Laredo for running such a top notch and well-run program, and moderators Dr John Kilburn and Louis LaVaude.We also commend our local veterans for coming together as 1 tonight. We look forward to seeing more of that unity in the future.We love and respect you, and honor your service and commitment to our country. Thank you.

Accepting a Gulf Guardian Award by the U.S. EPA-Gulf of Mexico Program on behalf of our organization for our basin-wide student water testing program known as the Rio Research Roundup. Started in 2010, the RRR works with 2,500-3,000 teachers and students in the US and Mexico each year to test the waters of the Rio Grande, and its tributaries, and other Texas river basins that drain into the Gulf of Mexico.We thank the EPA that gave us the seed money 8 years ago to start this meaningful youth environmental program and we thank all the teachers and students who have worked with us for nearly a decade, our funders, our Board, and our staff who have built this program into a tremendously rich educational program